36 Describing
In this chapter you will learn how to describe people, places and things, including the
weather, and you will become familiar with the verbs and constructions associated with
various forms of description.36.1 Referring to a subject’s nature or identity
36.1.1 Ser+ adjective
To refer to a subject’s nature or identity, as in ‘The Earth is round’, ‘Ana is slim’, ‘This is
Elena’, we use ser, ‘to be’, with an adjective (words like redondo, ‘round’, delgado,
‘slim’, which tell us what a noun is like). Remember that adjectives must agree in
number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine) with the noun they
refer to.La Tierra es redonda. The Earth is round.
Ana es delgada. Ana is slim.
Era un hombre inteligente. He was an intelligent man.
Barcelona es grande. Barcelona is big.
Este coche es estupendo. This car is very good.
Ésta es Elena. Es mi hermana. This is Elena. She’s my sister.
Es una novela de aventuras. It’s an adventure novel.^2 (p. 11);^3 (p. 16); 22.1 (p. 103)
36.1.2 Position of the adjective
Descriptions, however, are often more complex than this, and one point to consider is
the position of the adjective with respect to the noun to which it refers. Adjective
position in Spanish is fairly flexible, and whether the adjective precedes or follows the
noun depends on a number of factors, among them the following:(a) Meaning, which in a few cases varies according to position, for example:un hombre grande‘a big man’
un gran hombre‘a great man’
una persona pobre‘a poor person’ (without money)
una pobre persona‘a poor person’ (pitiful)
una casa nueva‘a new house’
una nueva casa‘another house’